Header construction.



No. 782,353.. PATENTED FEB. 14, 19,05.

J. M. MOGLELLON.

HEADER CONSTRUCTION.

APPLIOATION FIILED DBO. 12, 1904.

UNITED STATES Patented `February 14, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

HEADER CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,353, dated February14, 1905.

' Application filed December 12, 1904. Serial No. 236,487.

To all whom, it 11m/y concern.-

Beit known that I, JAMns M. McCLELLoN, acitizen of the United States,residing at Everett, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Header Construction, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts. This invention relates to header construction.

Heretofore headers for steam-boilers have commonly been made ofcast-iron or cast-steel; but this material is not satisfactory wherehigh pressures are used or where the header is subjected to the strainswhich are incident to its use in a locomotive, and therefore wroughtiron`or wrought-steel headers are generally coming into use. When thewrought-iron or Wrought-steel headers are made from what is known tothetrade as umechanical tubing, which has a curvilinear exterior andinterior surface, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to expand theends of'water-tubes thereinto and make a tight joint, partly because theexterior and interior shoulders, which define the limits of theaperturethrough the header into which the tube is inserted, follow the curved'surfaces of said header and partly because the thickness of the materialof the header varies at dierent points on the inner surface of the holein which the water-tube is inserted. In my experiments with headers ofthis construction I have devised a way of forming said headers so as tomake it possible to secure an absolutely tight joint at the point wherethe water-tubes are expanded into the header, and to do thisIcounterbore the tubereceivingapertures in the header, so as to leave arib of uniform thickness extending around the walls of the aperture, theedges of through a header embodying my improve-I ments, said headerhaving two tubes expanded thereinto. Fig. 2 isa section longitudinallyof the header. Fig. 3 shows a modification. Fig. 4 is a detail of aportion of aheader after `the tube-apertures have been drilled andcounterbored and beforethe tube is expanded thereinto'. Fig. 5 shows theresult of attempting to expand a tube in a tubular header where theheader does not embody my invention. Fig. 6 is a section on line xm,Fig. 5; andFig. 7 is a detail hereinafter referred to.

In the drawings, 2 designates a tubular header made of what is commonlyknown in the trade as heavy mechanical tubing that is, drawn tubing,which under some conditions requires more or less machining to reduce itto the properdimensions or give it the desired shape for use.

The header herein illustrated has a tubular form.

3 designates water-tubes which are to be expanded into said header.` Theusual way of thus expanding tubes into headers is to provide the headerwith an aperture through which the end of the tube is inserted andthereafter operate on the inside of the tube with any suitable expandingdevice, which expands lthe tube and crowds portions of the metalthereofl over the shoulders constituting the edges of the tube-receivingaperture/in the header.v In the caseof a tubular header as shown in thedrawings the edges of the tube-receivingV aperture would naturally becurved, as shown at 4' and V5, Figs. 5 and 6, and dierent points of saidedges would lie in different planes taken at right angles to the axis ofthe tube.

To attempt to expand a tube 3 into a tubular header, as shown in Figs. 5and 6, will not prove successful, partly because the edges lOO tent thanat the point (l, Fig. 5, and it will not be crowded over the shoulder atpoints a and or at any other point to any appreciable extent. The resultis that at the points L and c a tight joint will be effected, but not atthe points b and d. Moreover, because of the curvilinear shape of theshoulders 4 and 5 the tube is not firmly held in the header, and anylateral strain on the tube is very likely to loosen it from the header.To obviate all of these difficulties and to provide a header of thisnature into which the tubes can be expanded so as to make a tight joint,I counterbore the tube-receiving aperture in the header at one or bothends, if necessary, and thereby obtain shoulders which lie in parallelplanes at right angles to the axis of the tube and over which the metalof the tube may be expanded. As shown in Fig. 4, the tube-receivingaperture is counterbored at its inner end, as at 6, and at its outerend, as at 7. The counterbore extends sufliciently into the metal of thetubeto bring the edges 8 and 9 of the tube-receiving aperture intoparallel planes which extend at right angles to the axis of theaperture. This leaves an annular rib 10, which inelose's thetube-receiving bore. After the tubular headers have been thus drilledand counterbored the water-tubes 3 are inserted in the bores andexpanded, as usual, -the expanding operation resulting in crowdingportions of the metal, as at 11, over the shoulders 8 and 9, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2. Since the shoulders 8 and 9 stand in parallel planes atright angles to the direction of length of the tube, the said tube canbe expanded over them to produce as tight a joint as could be producedwhere a tube is `expanded into an ordinary plate or sheet, for

the rib 10 is, in effect, that portion of a sheet or shell immediatelysurrounding a tube-receiving aperture. To permit the counterboring andexpanding operations to take place, I propose to provide the headerswith an aperture opposite each tube-receiving opening and to close saidapertures by suitable plugs 12. Where the tubular headers arecurvilinear both exteriorly and interiorly, I propose to counterboreboth ends of the tubereceiving apertures. Some headers, however, aremade fiat-sided exteriorly and round interiorly, and in such event itwill be necessary to counterbore the interior of the tube only. On theother hand, where the header is fiatsided interiorly and curvilinearexteriorly it would be necessary to counterbore the exterior end only ofthe tube-receiving aperture.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated the manner of applying my invention to aconstruction in which the end of one tubular header is to be connectedto the side of another tubular header. In this embodimentv of myinvention 13 designates one tubular header, the end of which is to beconnected to the side of another tubular header, 14. To accomplish this,the'header 14 is provided with a nipple or tube receiving aperture, andthe inner end of said aperture will be counterbored to form the annularshoulder 15. The interior of the tubular header 13 is also counterbored,as at 16, to form an annular shoulder 17, which is in a plane parallelto the shoulder 15. The connection between the two headers is made by asuitable nipple 18, and the expanding of the nipple to make the tightjoint crowds portions 19 of the material of the nipple over theshoulders 15 and 17. For the purpose of facilitating the operation theheader 14 may be provided with a plug-aperture opposite thenipple-receiving aperture.

By means of my invention it is possible to use mechanical tubing forheaders and to obtain as tight a joint between said headers and thewater-tube as could be obtained between water-tubesin ordinary sheets orplates.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A tubular wrought-iron or wrought-steel header or manifoldcurvilinear interiorly, said manifold being provided with one or moretube-receiving apertures, the inner end of each aperture beingcounterbored to present an annular flat surface surrounding saidaperture in a plane at right angles to the direction of the aperture.

2. A tubular wrought-iron or wrought-steel header or manifoldcurvilinear interiorly, said manifold being provided with one or moretube-receiving apertures, the inner end of each aperture beingcounterbored topresent an annular fiat surface surrounding said aperturein a plane at right angles to the direction of the aperture, combinedwith a tube expanded in said tube-receiving aperture.

3. A wrought-iron or wrought-steel header or manifold curvilinearexteriorly in crosssection and having a tube-receiving aperture, theouter end of said aperture being counterbored to form an annularshoulder situated in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said'aperture.

4. A wrought-iron or wrought-steel header or manifold curvilinearexteriorly in crosssection and having a tube-receiving aperture, theouter end of said aperture being counterbored to form an annularshoulder situated in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said aperture,combined with a tube expanded in said aperture, the metal of the tubebeing crowded over said shoulder by the expanding operation.

5. A cylindrical tubular header or manifold having one or moretube-receiving openings leading thereto, the outer and inner ends ofsaid openings being counterbored to form between the counterbores anannular rib of uniform thickness.

6. A cylindrical tubular header or manifold having one or moretube-receiving apertures IOO IOS

In testimony whereof I have signed my name t0 this speciication in thepresence of tWo sub- I0 scribing Witnesses.

JAMES M. MCCLELLON.

Witnesses:

LOUIS C. SMITH, MARGARET A. DUNN.

